WoW Source: Warlords of Draenor PvP and Class Updates
Another WoW Source has been released!
Warlords of Draenor System Performance
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
As with every expansion, Warlords of Draenor will introduce a number of game-engine upgrades and graphical improvements, including new character models and better textures to help us create lush, detailed environments. Any increase in graphical quality will naturally result in some amount of increase in the game’s required system specs, but we’re working hard to minimize that and ensure that WoW runs well on as wide a range of systems as possible.
One of our game-engine updates is designed to limit the impact that animating the new models has on players’ frame rates. Our new character models have significantly more “moving parts” and more complex animation than the current models (see our Artcraft: Running of the Bulls to get an idea). As a result, the new animations require a bit more memory than the old ones. To counter that, we’ve developed some technology that should keep the impact on your framerate similar to what it is now. Some of this is actually already in place in Patch 5.4.7, and we’re continuing to work to optimize as much as we can—and of course, we’ll be providing an option to keep using the current models if you wish.
We’re also making several improvements to improve performance in Raids, Dungeons, and Battlegrounds, such as limiting extraneous spell effects in group content, which—along with other benefits such as eliminating some visual clutter—should help with performance. We’re also planning to provide separate options for graphical effects in Raids or Battlegrounds, so you can disable processor-intensive features such as shadows and reflections solely in those environments. We’ll be testing all of these updates out in the upcoming beta, though keep in mind that beta performance doesn’t reflect the final version of the game. We’ll still be in the process of optimization, and the beta will include additional development tools that impact system performance.
One of our longstanding goals is to make sure WoW runs well on as broad a range of systems as possible, and that continues to be a top priority. We’ll have more details on the expansion’s system requirements closer to launch, and we can’t wait to show you more of Warlords of Draenor.
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Another WoW Source has been released!
- There have been some big changes to the starting experiences shown off at Blizzcon. This is one of the reasons that beta has not yet started.
- There was too much CC in Mists of Pandaria PvP, which upset a lot of players. It is still an important and necessary part of PvP though!
- Diminishing Return categories were also too complicated, so the number of categories was reduced for Warlords of Draenor. Even with the changes, many of the popular arena comps are still viable.
- PvP gear will have a second item level that activates when you are doing PvP. This allows the PvP gear to be useful in other parts of the game while having it remain the best gear for PvP.
- Ashran will be somewhat like a Timeless Isle for PvP. Players can go there, explore the island, kill some players and creatures, and earn some things that will benefit them in PvP.
- Ashran will have a Horde and Alliance fortress on opposite ends of the island, with staging areas behind each base. This area will have vendors, let you duel, and be a place for PvP players to hang out. Each faction's base is fully manned with NPCs that are fighting a battle. The main battle takes place in the center, slowly pushing towards the other faction's fortress. There are objectives on the outer edges of the island. It shouldn't feel too much like a battleground, more like unstructured PvP with some points of interest. Ashran won't be ready for the initial builds.
- There will be an alpha realm that is only for PvP, with premade level 100 characters only and most of the world disabled. This will allow a longer period of feedback on PvP changes than previous betas have had.
- Raid testing will also start taking place earlier, as tech is in place to let you zone in to Blackrock Foundry at level 92 and temporarily be increased to level 100 for raid testing.
- Skirmishes will have a random reward at the end, honor, battleground gear, or maybe even conquest gear. You can solo queue and will be matched with another player of the appropriate role.
- Random battlegrounds are popular because they are a solo queue experience, so skirmishes will hopefully allow a lot of players who have never done arenas before to start doing them.
- The team is toning down visuals from other players while leaving your own visuals intact.
Warlords of Draenor System Performance
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
As with every expansion, Warlords of Draenor will introduce a number of game-engine upgrades and graphical improvements, including new character models and better textures to help us create lush, detailed environments. Any increase in graphical quality will naturally result in some amount of increase in the game’s required system specs, but we’re working hard to minimize that and ensure that WoW runs well on as wide a range of systems as possible.
One of our game-engine updates is designed to limit the impact that animating the new models has on players’ frame rates. Our new character models have significantly more “moving parts” and more complex animation than the current models (see our Artcraft: Running of the Bulls to get an idea). As a result, the new animations require a bit more memory than the old ones. To counter that, we’ve developed some technology that should keep the impact on your framerate similar to what it is now. Some of this is actually already in place in Patch 5.4.7, and we’re continuing to work to optimize as much as we can—and of course, we’ll be providing an option to keep using the current models if you wish.
We’re also making several improvements to improve performance in Raids, Dungeons, and Battlegrounds, such as limiting extraneous spell effects in group content, which—along with other benefits such as eliminating some visual clutter—should help with performance. We’re also planning to provide separate options for graphical effects in Raids or Battlegrounds, so you can disable processor-intensive features such as shadows and reflections solely in those environments. We’ll be testing all of these updates out in the upcoming beta, though keep in mind that beta performance doesn’t reflect the final version of the game. We’ll still be in the process of optimization, and the beta will include additional development tools that impact system performance.
One of our longstanding goals is to make sure WoW runs well on as broad a range of systems as possible, and that continues to be a top priority. We’ll have more details on the expansion’s system requirements closer to launch, and we can’t wait to show you more of Warlords of Draenor.
More...